UNM-LA - Solace Crisis Treatment Center Education and Prevention Department Manager Jess Clark presents “Bystander Intervention Workshop: Learning How To Safely Take Action” 9-11 a.m. Friday, April 27 at UNM-Los Alamos, Building 5 in Wallace Hall. 

The goal of Bystander Intervention workshops is to help participants develop bystander efficacy, or the confidence to intervene in a situation of sexual harassment or sexual assault. Workshop participants will learn about bystander theory and practice different strategies for intervening in various situations, from hearing someone telling offensive jokes or making inappropriate sexual comments to witnessing harassment or even violence in public. The information in this presentation applies to many topics in addition to sexual violence, such as bullying and helping those in need.

The workshop is a collaboration between Solace Crisis Treatment Center and the UNM-LA grant from the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). Dr. Kristy Nadler was awarded the grant for UNM-LA from the OVW at the U.S. Department of Justice. The OVW grant provides $300,000 over three years to organize effective sexual misconduct prevention, education, and response for the UNM-LA community.

Nadler, Program Investigator for the grant, said, “In the campus climate survey conducted by UNM in spring 2017, UNM-LA students indicated that, while our campus is very safe, these are issues they are confronted with elsewhere. We’re excited to have resources to serve them better to provide prevention education that will increase the safety of our community for everyone.”

UNM-LA CEO Dr. Cindy Rooney added, “While the Campus Safety Report, available on our website, shows that there were no reports of any type of crimes on campus in 2016, or for the past five years or more, we are great proponents of proactively addressing those issues which students and others are facing nationwide.”

The Los Alamos community, students, and faculty are invited to attend the workshop. For more information, contact Cynthia Goldblatt, OVW Grant Program Coordinator at 505-235-2329.